


Nothing Bad Ever Happens in this Town

by Thee_Maxwell



Category: The Society (TV 2019)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Emotional Manipulation, Fluff, Harry; Lexie; Allie; Will are all mentioned but not present, I'm really bad at tagging, M/M, Manipulation, Not A Happy Ending, but it's not sad either
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-20 17:04:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21285155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thee_Maxwell/pseuds/Thee_Maxwell
Summary: Grizz sat down at a small table in the kitchen, gesturing for Sam to do the same. "So, where were you today? You were out for…" Grizz stopped, finally getting a good look at the other's face. "What happened?"Sam gave him a confused look."Your face. It looks like you were attacked by someone. What happened?"
Relationships: Sam Eliot/Gareth "Grizz" Visser
Comments: 6
Kudos: 91





	Nothing Bad Ever Happens in this Town

**Author's Note:**

> Almost all of my stories are inspired by songs/have a specific song that I listened to when writing them. This one was "The Other Side", by Conan Gray, hence where the title is from. 
> 
> Trigger Warning for homophobic language, some violence (nothing too gory) and a small panic attack.   
Stay safe, enjoy!

It would suck, Sam thinks, if he were colorblind as well as Deaf. Not that there’s anything wrong with either of those, but combined it seems that he might just be bored. His whole world is visual, and since he can’t decipher sounds from each other, it’s nice to be able to look at things and appreciate the subtle differences that make them unique. 

He’s sitting alone, looking at the outstretch of land that will hopefully become the place that everyone farms. A cloud covers the Sun for a brief moment, causing the grass to shift in hues, the shadows from the trees creating beautiful patterns. 

He couldn’t hear the animals moving around behind him, just a couple of squirrels and such from the woods, but it didn’t matter. He saw the way the river moved, the fish just barely visible, and the deer running around in the far distance.

It was enough.

Animals running around to the open area before him alerted Sam to the fact that someone was behind him, Sam assumed either Grizz or one of the other expedition group. Everything around him felt colder when he saw his brother standing there, not even looking at him.

“What do you want?” Sam nearly spat out. He stood to leave when Campbell started to respond. “Just to chat, see how my little faggot of a brother is doing.” Sam just glared, trying to leave again. Campbell grabbed his shoulder to stop him. 

“You know, I’m still not fond of the idea to start a whole new society, needing to come out here and do some bullshit labor. I’ve thought about putting Allie and Will out here, but who the fuck knows what they could manage to do if I just let them go?”

Sam’s head was reeling. The two of them were alive, potentially suffering, but at least alive. That was good. 

“Now, I don’t quite know what to do with people once they start to rebel. It’s inevitable, but where would I put them? I can’t keep them in town, that would be a suicide wish. What do you think would work? I was thinking we could bring them out here, lock them in a place they don’t know in the wild to just try and survive. Maybe I’ll take pity on them. Maybe I’ll make their punishment simple and easy, quick shot to the head and they’ll be over. I mean, if dear Allie can do it, why can’t I?”

Sam felt his breath speeding up erratically, not quite sure how to respond or what to make of the situation. If he left without Campbell making his intentions clear, he might be asking to be hurt. But Campbell wasn’t the kind to just let his prey get away when he had them so cleanly trapped.

“Of course, though, I can’t do it alone. I don’t have the respect needed to be able to pull that off. The brawn that I obtained was necessary, if not a hassle, but Harry and friends were rather easy to sway in my favor. It’s quite a shame, you know, Grizz being a traitor to the guard. He would have been useful to me, but he had too much of a brain on him. If he were just a little bit more stupid, I would have had the perfect little pack of mutts to do with whatever I pleased.”

The world was spinning when Sam read Grizz’s name. His vision fuzzed for a few seconds, enough to completely miss the rest of whatever bullshit Campbell was spewing. He frantically shook his head, and shoved his hands in his pockets, trying desperately to get them to stop trembling. 

“Leave him out of this. He hasn’t even been able to get a good amount of food. He wouldn’t be useful to you now.” Campbell cocked his head slightly. “Oh, did I strum the wrong chord, fag? Is there something going on between you two?” Sam stayed frozen; he had already said too much. Campbell’s grip on his shoulder tightened to a painful degree.

“This has been a great talk, Sammy. Are you two trying to conspire against Harry and Lexie? Do you not enjoy their leadership? Because I thought that they’ve been doing a grand job.” 

Sam shook his head, shallowly and short. “No? Has he gotten so bored that he’s using you as his own personal fuck-” before he could finish, Sam closed his eyes and lowered his head. He didn’t want to see this, didn’t want to expose Grizz to anyone, much less Campbell without his permission.

Campbell slapped his face hard and then grabbed his head, holding Sam’s eyes open. It didn’t do much good to help him see, his eyes immediately started to water, but Sam got the point. “No, he…Grizz isn’t-”

Shaking his head while chuckling, Campbell pressed into Sam’s temples with the fingers he wasn’t otherwise using. “I can’t fucking believe it. Another faggot in West Ham? And he managed to be one of the most popular kids at our school? This is a gold mine of potential, thank you. I mean, really, I never would have thought that it would be so easy to hold even more shit above your head. I knew you were weak, but I never knew that you would be weak enough to actually have someone who could be used against you. Coming out here had me worried, I didn’t know what was going to happen. But thank you. I knew I could rely on you.”

He walked away, but not before giving one final press to Sam’s eyes with his thumb. Sam just stood there for a minute, mind playing and replaying what had just happened. He wiped his eyes and rubbed his shoulder; if it wasn’t already red, it would be eventually. 

A buzz from his phone pulled him back to reality. A text from Becca, saying thanks for watching Eden a few hours earlier and one from Grizz, asking when he’ll be home because he wants to know about how much food to make. 

With a tight but warm heart, Sam shoots a quick ‘sorry, I’m on my way now’ text to not only reply, but to also quell the fears he was having. It was a small thing, but it reassured him nonetheless that yes, Grizz was safe, Campbell hasn’t done anything to him. 

It was maybe forty minutes later (the boys had been lucky with Grizz’s house being near a good path to the field) before Sam got back home. It was dark at this point, but his phone had a flashlight and the house was visible from a decent distance, so it wasn’t too much of an issue. He could almost smell dinner - soup, maybe? - from outside of the house and that alone almost lifted him further, completely removing any thoughts or worries he may have been having before.

The door was unlocked, so Sam let himself in. He was greeted with a warmly lit room and an even warmer general air, which felt better than usual due to the chill that was starting to be present outside. This house had become such a safe space for the boys in a rather short amount of time. It had only been a month or so since the expedition returned with the good news. Grizz and Sam made up in a short amount of time before realizing that maybe it wouldn’t be a great idea for the two of them to be seen out in public too frequently together. They decided that their relationship would be a private thing, between the two of them and Becca, because really, who would she tell? And she, in return, trusted Grizz with the information that Sam was, in fact, not the father.

Sam walked into the kitchen, giving out a small “Hey” at Grizz, who was dishing out what looked like at least a second bowl of soup. He had that stupid little bun that drove Sam crazy with love and adoration on top of his head. It was all just grossly domestic. 

Grizz cocked a little half-smile at Sam. “Hey, I was getting worried.” Sam just shook his head and nudged Grizz’s shoulder. “I can handle myself. The food smells great.”

"Good. I saved some of the crops I had been growing earlier this year, so I hope you like carrots and potatoes and celery. And chicken broth."

"I'm sure it will taste wonderful."

Grizz sat down at a small table in the kitchen, gesturing for Sam to do the same. "So, where were you today? You were out for…" Grizz stopped, finally getting a good look at the other's face. "What happened?"

Sam gave him a confused look.

"Your face. It looks like you were attacked by someone. What happened?" Sam broke eye contact, not wanting to have to explain the situation to Grizz. "Hey, hey," Grizz waved his hand to get Sam's attention. "I only ask because I worry. It's okay." But Sam just shakes his head no and finishes up with his soup.

The rest of dinner was quiet. Sam finished up quickly, dropping his bowl in the sink with some water to soak, Grizz eating his a little bit slower to allow it a proper amount of time to cool down. Sam rushed to the bathroom to take a shower, but also to get a look at how his face appeared. 

Grizz wasn’t wrong.

There was a solid bruise on the side of and above his eye where Campbell had grabbed his face, and a smaller, more faint one where he had been slapped. His eyes were swollen and yeah, okay, he understands why Grizz was worried. Pulling off his shirt, he grimaced when he saw the blotchy redness on his shoulder. It wasn’t awful, but it certainly wasn’t the prettiest sight to look at. 

The shower was nice, short but warm and comforting. Sam considered not wearing a shirt to bed, mostly because that was his usual, but he didn’t want to worry Grizz, even more, when he sees his shoulder. So he decided a shirt would be beneficial, it's cold anyway, right?

He crept into his room, their room, and quickly changed into the loose-fitting sweats that he stole from Grizz and a large sweatshirt he owned otherwise. Just your standard set of winter pajamas. 

Grizz was already in bed, reading some book that Sam couldn’t quite make out from the other side of the room. 

Once Sam made it to the bed, Grizz moved over to allow for the two of them to cuddle while still having a conversation. “You know,” Grizz sighed and moved his from his face. Sam followed the action. “I’m hoping that come spring, everything will go right to be able to actually use the farmland we found. I hope so hard that the ground is good enough to grow anything.” 

“Didn’t you guys take soil samples?” Grizz nodded. “Yeah, but because of all the shit that’s been going on, Bean, Gordie and I haven’t been able to meet up to look over everything and examine.” Grizz’s hand was cupping Sam’s face, thumb rubbing his cheek. Sam knew he wanted to ask about his face again, but he was too polite to do so.

“I just... I miss being able to go outside freely. It feels like everywhere I go, I see the guard, and I just get a dirty glance from them, or Campbell is there, looking over everything. I’m worried that I’m going to make a wrong move, and shit’s going to hit the fan.” 

Sam couldn’t help it when he started crying. Everything just hit him at once. He knew Grizz felt it before he saw because his thumb froze once it hit a tear. Before Grizz could start to question him, Sam threw himself into the other’s chest the avoid any confrontation. 

He wanted to be able to breathe properly, to be able to do something to calm his nerves, but all Sam managed to do was heave into Grizz’s body. Strong arms wrapped around him to comfort and hold him in place, but it just made Sam feel just short of claustrophobic. 

The sobbing continued for about ten minutes. Near the end, Grizz started to pet and play with Sam’s hair, trying to create some sort of calming gesture to let him know that he's still there for him. Eventually, Sam pulls away from Grizz's grip, wiping his face with the heel of his palm. He started to apologize, but Grizz just grabbed his face in his hands to stop him. 

"Hey, you're okay. Breathe, there you go. I don't want to push you, but do you want to talk about it?" Grizz was almost whispering, scared to say the wrong thing. It took a few minutes, but eventually, Sam cleared his throat.

"It's Campbell. He came looking for me when I was in the field, but I don't know why. He was being Campbell, threatened me in general information. He ended up figuring out that we're together and-" tears cut Sam off. His face was flushed and he couldn't make eye contact with Grizz. 

They hadn't expressly talked about it, but Sam had always just assumed that Grizz being gay was going to stay between the two of them and maybe Becca later. Especially now, with Harry and Lexie at the front with Campbell pulling the reins, it wasn't the best time for either of them to be the odd ones out more than they already were. There wasn't a reason to put a larger target on their backs. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't say anything to him, I promise, he just. He has a way of manipulating everything." Grizz was just looking at him, eyes roaming around Sam's face and body. Sam was almost collapsed in on himself, having pulled away from Grizz. He still refused to look at Grizz, so he couldn't tell if he was saying anything. 

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, awkward and uncomfortable. Sam cried again, quieter and less violent, but filled with guilt and overwhelming sadness. He tried to speak several times, but the words wouldn't come out. He was shaking too much to sign. Grizz couldn't figure out what to do. His mind normally was racing with ideas and ways to get out of a situation, but right now he was just blank. There was nothing in his head. He wanted to reach out for Sam, but Sam was trying to distance himself; he was probably scared of something like before happening. 

He reaches his hand out, inching it towards Sam’s ever so slowly. He tickled his fingers, but Sam quickly grabbed and squeezed Grizz’s hand. 

“I don’t think he’ll say anything.” 

“I’m sorry?”

Sam shook his head and finally looked at Grizz. “I don’t think he’ll say anything. He likes to have some form of blackmail. It gives him power over you, which is what he wants. Besides, most people wouldn’t care, they didn’t when I came out. It just makes sense for him to try to use it to get you to do what he wants.”

Grizz pulled Sam into his body, still holding his hand. He started to slowly and gently pet Sam’s hair; threading it through his fingers and pulling out small knots that started to form. He couldn’t say anything. His thoughts were short-circuiting and he couldn’t really speak even if he tried; his voice seemed to have just disappeared. 

There was an analog clock in the room, and in the silence of the boys, it sounded deafening. Grizz somehow managed to latch onto that noise and focus solely on it, which gave him a good distraction but also started to drive him a little crazy. The floodgates had opened in his head. It was so neat and predictable, orderly and everything that Grizz didn't have now that private enemy number one knew the only thing he wanted to keep quiet. He feared what Campbell was capable of, who he would tell, what that would mean-

“Hey. I can hear you thinking. That’s saying something for a guy who can't hear.” Sam tapped Grizz's forehead, and, after a small moment of shock, Grizz let out a laugh. So much for his mind being blank. 

“Yeah. I just didn’t expect your brother to find out like this. Thought it would be more of an ‘oh yeah, I’m marrying your brother, don’t worry, you won’t see him again’ type of thing.”

“Well. You can still do that. I won’t complain.” 

“It’s a little bit hard to whisk you away to get married when there’s nowhere to go and no one to wed us.” Sam sat up just to give Grizz a look. “Besides, we’re not there yet. As much as this time has been lovely, it’s been, what, a month? I don’t want to jump into anything.”

“I know. It’s still early, I wasn’t expecting that right now. Not with Harry and Lexie in charge.” Grizz sat up with Sam and gently kissed his head before just resting his face in the red curls. Sam moves his head to give Grizz a small kiss on the corner of his mouth. Grizz holds Sam’s face but quickly removes his hand when Sam flinches ever so slightly.

The two make eye contact which Grizz breaks quickly to scan over Sam’s face. Sam just brings Grizz’s hand back to his cheek and smiles softly. “I’m okay, I promise. I just didn’t expect it. Grizz nods, not believing that he’s really fine, but doesn’t press the subject anymore. 

Sam yawned and slumped against Grizz’s chest, pulling the comforter over himself. He felt Grizz chuckle and whispered, “I’m tired, it’s been a long day.” Grizz just nodded and leaned over to turn off the lamp before getting into the covers himself. 

Once Grizz was sure that Sam was asleep, he muttered into his neck “I love you.” Sam stirred a little bit, and quietly slurred “you say something?” Grizz swallowed, slowly signing with shaking hands ‘I love you. I want you to be safe.’ Sam melted, kissing Grizz again. “I love you too.” The two boys slot into place in bed, Grizz still shaking slightly, but now smiling to himself. He slid his hand into Sam’s, and let himself fall asleep, pushing off all problems for tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> Bless anyone who can sit down and write a 3,000 word story or chapter in an hour because holy fuck, this took me a month to complete (granted, I have college and work, but still). If you're capable of doing that, then you are talented and have worked super hard. Good job.


End file.
